Sophie Kubik stared at the red flashing numbers on the scoreboard and nothing sunk in. Thompson Valley's senior has spent countless hours in the pool in her life. Much of it for the Eagles and plenty outside in club.

She's swam in state meets, competitions outside of the high school season and even at sea level, which supplies a nice boost for swimmers accustomed to competing at altitude. But never in all of those swims had Kubik seen the time she was soaking in.

A full second passes and she begins to question her sanity. Only a glance to the stands to pick out her mom can confirm what Kubik's eyes are telling her.

2:12.48

"I looked at my time and it didn't even register for a second. I was like 'Am I looking at the right lane?'" she says after swimming her fastest ever 200-yard individual medley. "My mom gave me the thumbs up and I knew it was me. It didn't kick in until I saw my mom."

Sure enough, there was nothing wrong with the board or Kubik's vision.

In the finals of the Northern Conference Championships on Saturday at the Veteran's Memorial Aquatics Center, she saw a record day individually to help boost Thompson Valley to a third-place finish with 359 points.

Swimming the breaststroke leg of the meet's first event, the 200 medley relay, provided the boost she'd need later one. Typically Kubik takes the butterfly portion of the relay event, but taking on the breast only gave her newfound confidence for the IM.

Riding that confidence and adrenaline pushed Kubik to a new level as she chewed up water to finish second (following it up later with a third-place finish in the 100 butterfly).

"I looked up and saw a 12 and I was like 'Wow! Look at that.' Then I tried to get out of the pool and then I understood," she said, recreating her wobbly exit from the water. "I was a little unsteady. Honestly, in the moment, I was just going as hard as I could."

It was the highlight of a strong day for the Eagles overall, who saw several podium finishes on the night across the board, including on the diving board where Thompson Valley was well represented in the top eight.

Adley Morison, Emily Fulp, Emma McKalko and Jamie Dellwardt all notched top-five placements for the Eagles in the conference championships, with Emma Briles taking third in diving.

Then there was Jordan Keck, still just short of punching her place as an individual at the state meet next weekend. Saturday would represent her final chance to join her teammates. When the 50 freestyle came, Keck was ready to seize her moment.

"I knew I could do it, but I wasn't sure if I was strained from (club) or if my training was where it needed to be," Keck said. "But I looked up and saw that cut, it was mind-blowing I guess. It really didn't feel like an awesome race."

Mountain View knew it wasn't going to compete for a conference championship, but the Lions still had plenty to swim for over the course of the two days. Prelims were very successful as MVHS sent more to state and Abby O'Donnell added to that total with her effort in the 100 butterfly.

The Lions took sixth as a team with 178 points as Tasha Reichhardt placed fourth in the 500 freestyle and seventh in the backstroke, while Sophie Busse took sixth in the breaststroke and seventh in the 200 IM.

"This was a really good day for me. In all of my events, except the 400 relay, I swam personal bests," Busse said. "My 200 IM, I dropped five seconds and made state, so I think that was my best race of the day. And I also dropped a second in the 100 breaststroke, so I was really excited about those races."